• Brand new!

The main drawback of this toy is that there are 18 different shapes to sort, and each shape fits one and only one hole. Imagine if you will, your average toddler who is just learning shapes and fine motor skills trying to master such a complicated task. Incredibly, it took both my husband and I several minutes to sort them because you have to turn the cube over and over looking for the right hole, and some of the shapes are only slightly different. There is absolutely no way that your average toddler could succeed at this task.

This toy is colorful and my daughter does enjoy dumping the shapes out, but there are many other shape sorters out there that have a skill level that's more appropriate for a toddler. Lamaze makes a great soft shape sorter, and Fisher-Price has one that only has three types of shapes to sort. I'd recommend either of those over this one.

13 of 15 found the following review helpful:


Great concept, not the best sorter out there  Oct 24, 1999
This shape sorter is a super concept. The level of difficulty is a full step above the popular round red/blue sorter since there are more pieces and sides. The fact that the box top is not attached and cannot be replaced easily by my 2 1/2 year old requires that she always have assistance and cannot explore it over and over on her own. My recommendation is to stick with other sorters or to be willing to help your child patiently until they are older.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:


Forget Mozart ! Get a shape sorter to teach math skills!  Aug 14, 1999
Experts say that listening to Classical music could help kids to be sharp at math, but I know that this toy has taught my son basic geometry at age 2 1/2 ! At first we "did shapes" together; I would guide each piece into the proper hole as I said its name. By age 2, he could identify and name the shapes as he dropped them in, much to the amazement of his Daddy ("Even I don't know what a trapezoid is !"). With 18 different shapes, this toy has more variety than other shape sorters. It's one of my son's favorite tub toys, too. As for durability, he kept escaping from his playpen until I discovered that he was using the shape sorter as a stepladder!

17 of 21 found the following review helpful:


I got what I paid for..  Aug 16, 2000 By Rebecca Martin
I bought this for my son for [$] knowing that playskool was a pretty good brand..I was wrong about this toy. The top comes off even if you barely touch it..so my son just puts them in the big opening..that dosent teach much..I wouldnt purchase it for anyone and I will look for a new shape sorter for my son.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:


Happy faces on each side, and on your child!  Aug 11, 1999
My son received this as a 1st birthday present, and although it was a bit too challenging for him to find each of the right holes, there were a few that he could recognize right away. The rest he just popped the top open and stuck them inside the box! As he got a little older he got a little better at it, until he could just pick one up and automatically know where to put it. Now he's 5 years old, and it has gone through his 3 year old sister (who still loves to play with it, as does he sometimes), and now his 1 year old sister is starting to get in on the fun as well!

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